Hi Folks, I have been getting right after the fish with my guests. doing double duty all week chasing smallmouth bass. We have been catching fish with the fly rods and the spin gear. I have been guiding out of my boat, canoe, and wade fishing. The smallmouth fishing in Vermont is outstanding and the number of places to fish bass is incredible. Water temperatures have cooled off with the night time cooling effect. The lower Lamoille was 70 at 6 am Thursday and a Winooski trib was 67 at 6;30am on Tuesday at 7 am. I have fished 3 different lakes since Tuesday and their water temperatures have ranged from 68 to 73 degrees late in the day. Still tons of #14-#22 flying ants around and I am seeing a lot of surface activity late in the afternoon. Matter of fact we witnessed a literal blitz of feeding smallmouth the other day and the only thing that made sense was that the fish were gulping tons of drowned ants. Interestingly with the water so low and temperatures warmer than average in our lakes that you would assume that the fish would be holding in deeper water. Every large smallmouth hooked in a lake the last 3 days has been holding in less than 3' of water. Rocky hard bottom areas with downed wood, man mad structure,and weeds. The river fishing has been pretty consistent whether we have been drifting soft plastic baits with spin gear to casting flies. With the sunny skies you have had to really place drifts onto cover within the river. The fish have not been overly willing to move far to eat. Large rocks on the upstream side in particular have been productive. The top water bite in the rivers has been short lived. the first hour of light and dusk. I have not found that surface fly has much mattered. A #8 yellow belly frog with rubber legs has been consistent. I think its more the way it is fished makes a difference. Be patient when the fly lands and bring the popper to life! Olive colored streamer between #10-#6 have worked the best. I tie an olive Zonker with a olive crystal chenille body that works really well. creates the illusion of a baby bass to crawfish to a wood minnow. We still need rain. Never seen lakes and rivers so low. Chasing bass again tomorrow. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy
